Penguin Appetizers

Inspiration:
I saw these on Megan's blog over two years ago and finally had the chance to make them for a neighbor's New Year's Eve party.

These were much easier to make than I expected, and they tasted pretty good! I'll keep these in mind for future winter parties.


Ingredients:

• 18 jumbo ripe Black olives

• 18 small ripe Black olives

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

• 1 carrot (about 6 inches long and 1 inch wide)

• 18 long fresh chives

• 18 frill toothpicks
  

Instructions:

1. Cut a slit lengthwise from top to bottom in each jumbo olive

2. Fill each cavity of the jumbo olives with about a teaspoon of cream cheese
   (using a pastry bag makes this much easier)

3. This makes the the white stripe in penguins chest. Cut carrot into 1/4 inch slices,then out of each slice cut a small pie shaped piece. This makes the feet, save the piece you cut out, this will be the beak

4. In the x slit in the center of each small olive (where the pit was removed) press the small piece of carrot into the hole with the pointed end out.

5. Using a frill toothpick,stack head ( small olive ), body (large olive) and feet (carrot slice), adjusting so that beak, cream cheese breast and notch in carrot line up.

6. Tie chive around neck for the scarf.

Pioneer Woman's Restaurant-Style Salsa

Inspiration:
I love restaurant-style salsa, so when I saw Pioneer Woman's recipe on my friend Sarah's blog, I had to make it immediately!


Ingredients:

• 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
• 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
• ¼ cups Chopped Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
• ¼ teaspoons Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
• ½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
• ½ whole Lime Juice

Instructions:

1. Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

2. Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

Notes: I used one large jalapeño, including the ribs and seeds. I would describe the salsa as medium-hot. Tim loves spicy food, so I'll probably use two next time. This makes a lot, but we ate the entire batch within a week.

I make my own salsa in summer using fresh tomatoes, but I never had made it in winter. This recipe is so good! I think it may be my favorite salsa of all time.


Liz's Rating: 10/10
Tim's Rating: 9.5/10

Deviled Eggs, Two Ways

Inspiration:
A holiday gathering with friends and recipes from allrecipes.com.


Ingredients and Instructions:

Bacon-Balsamic Deviled Eggs

Savory Deviled Eggs


Notes:
These were a HUGE hit! I was of course expecting the bacon recipe to be the favorite, but surprisingly the dill eggs were even more popular. I made 24 deviled egg halves for 8 people, and I should have made more. These will be something I'll make often.

Shout Out:
Thanks to my friend Lindsay for lending me her pretty antique dish. :)


Liz and Tim's Ratings:
Bacon-Balsamic: 9.5/10
Savory Deviled Eggs: 10/10

Healthier Sour Cream & Onion Dip

Inspiration:
Good Housekeeping


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup(s) plain fat-free yogurt
• 2 tablespoon(s) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium (6- to 8-ounce) yellow onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) sugar
  
• salt
  
• Pepper
• 1/3 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream
• Snipped chives, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Line medium sieve set over deep bowl with basket-style coffee filter or paper towel. Spoon yogurt into filter; cover and refrigerate 25 minutes. Discard liquid in bowl.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium until hot. Add onions, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook 15 to 17 minutes or until dark golden brown, stirring onions occasionally.
3. Line plate with double thickness of paper towels. With slotted spoon, transfer onions to plate to drain further and cool. (Onions will crisp slightly as they cool, and a few pieces may stick to paper towel.)
4. In medium bowl, combine sour cream, strained yogurt, and onions. Stir well. Cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. (Dip is best when refrigerated for a day; flavors develop more fully.) Garnish with chives and serve with fresh veggie crudités.

Notes:
My family members LOVE the dip made by mixing Lipton's Onion Soup dry mix with sour cream. They love it. My mom and I thought that we would try making an onion dip from scratch. This was much much less salty than the other dip (not surprisingly), so I would probably add a little more salt next time :)

Nutritional Information:
(per 2 tablespoon serving)

Calories	45
Total Fat	2g
Saturated Fat	1g
Cholesterol	2mg
Sodium	55mg
Total Carbohydrate	4g
Dietary Fiber	1g
Sugars	--
Protein	2g
Calcium	--

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Ellen's Artichoke Puffs

Inspiration:
My sister Ellen made these over the holidays using our aunt's recipe.


Ingredients:

• 1 lb. package of puff pastry sheets
• 2 cans artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
   
2. Chop artichoke hearts, add remaining ingredients and mix well.
   
3. Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 15-20 squares. Press puff pastry squares into mini muffin tins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Fill 3/4 full with artichoke filling.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown

Notes:
These can be prepared ahead of time and frozen! Freeze in the mini muffin tins, then pop puffs out into a large plastic bag. You can place the frozen puffs into mini muffin pans and bake from frozen, adding 5 minutes to baking time.


Liz's Rating: 8.5/10
Tim's Rating: 9/10

Baba Ghanoush

Inspiration:
The Amazing Race's stop in Dubai
and
JustDubai.org


Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• garlic powder or fresh garlic
• salt
• pepper or hot sauce
• fresh lemon juice (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 scallion, chopped (optional)
• Pita wedges, for serving
  

Instructions:

1. First wash eggplant. Pierce in a few places with a fork or knife. Bake eggplant in 205 ºC (400 ºC) oven until skin has almost collapsed and the eggplant is very soft. Let cool.
   
2. Scoop out and mash all of the flesh. Throw away the skin. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste. Refrigerate and then serve.
   

Recipe Notes: It is a popular Levantine dish of eggplant mashed and combined with diverse seasonings. Usually the eggplant is baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a smoky savor. Baba Ganoush is served as a dip with pita bread, and is sometimes added to other dishes. It is typically of an earthy light brown color.


My Notes: I have had Baba Ganoush in restaurants but never made it at home. While I thought it was ok, and I am glad I made it, I think I prefer hummus. :) I thought it is likely authentic enough as it comes from a Dubai website, but really almost all other recipes found online contained tahini and not mayonnaise!


Liz's Rating: 7.5/10
Tim's Rating: 8/10

Next on The Amazing Race: Dubai again. What are your favorite Middle-Eastern recipes?

Siberian Spicy Garlic Cheese (Pikantny Syr)

Inspiration:
The Amazing Race's second Russian pit stop
and
this recipe from grouprecipes.com


Ingredients:

1/2 pound (8 ounces) medium-sharp white cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1/2 pound (8 ounces) Emmentaler cheese, (Gruyere)finely shredded
1/4 cup pure sour cream (containing no additives)
1/4 cup full-fat mayonnaise
8 to 10 large garlic cloves, put through a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or hot paprika (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Toss the shredded cheeses by hand in a large bowl.
Mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, pressed garlic, hot pepper (optional), and salt in a small bowl, then add to the cheese, stirring to mix well.
Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours (and preferably overnight) to let the flavors meld.
Let the cheese mixture come to room temperature before serving. Use as a stuffing for small firm ripe tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, as a topping for baked potatoes, or as a spread for dark bread.

Recipe Notes:
Called pikantny syr (spicy cheese) in Russian, this is a popular appetizer in Siberia and the Russian Far East. In restaurants it is usually served as a stuffing for ripe red tomatoes, or as a spread for chewy-textured Russian bread. The combination of cheeses used in this recipe approximates the taste of the cheese used in Asian Russia. Plenty of garlic provides the kick; you can also add some cayenne pepper to make the cheese even hotter. Russians make this dish by putting all the ingredients through a meat grinder--but you can shred the cheese by hand or even use a food processor.


My Notes: I only used 4 cloves of garlic, and it is still very garlicky! I liked this spread on toast points. (We were out of crackers.) It would also be delicious melted on top of chicken breast... which I may try with the leftovers!

Tim's Rating: 8/10 ("Too garlicky for me.")
Liz's Rating: 8/10

Lavash

Inspiration:
When I saw these on Lindsay's blog, I knew I had to try them. Then Tim and I went to her home, and he had some. "You made these?" He was shocked and impressed, which made Lindsay and I laugh a little. Lindsay gave him a bag to take home, and he ate all of them by the time we got home. So, I made him some more today.
Recipe adapted from Bread Baker's Apprentice


Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup room temperature water
• one egg white, lightly beaten with 1t water
  
• coarse salt
  
• spices (I used dill, cumin, caraway, and rosemary)
  

Instructions:

1. Stir the flour, salt yeast, honey and oil together.
2. While continuing to stir, slowly add the water into the dry ingredients. Stir until the dough gathers into a ball.
   
3. Lightly flour the counter top and knead the dough for 10 minutes. You will know the dough is ready when it stretches thin without breaking. (Do the windowpane test.)
   
4. Spray a bowl with oil and swirl the dough to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 90 minutes -- the dough should double in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Lightly oil the counter top. Place dough on the oiled surface and sprinkle with flour. Roll the dough out until its paper thin. It should be at least 12" x 15".
7. Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.
   
8. Using a pastry brush, thinly coat the dough with the egg wash. Sprinkle coarse salt and any spices you would like onto the dough.
9. If you would like pre-cut crackers, use a pizza cutter and cut the desired shapes - the crackers will break even once removed from the oven.
10. Bake the crackers for 15-20 minutes, when the crackers are evenly browned.

Notes: I didn't roll the dough as thinly as I should have. I still like the result, but Tim prefers Lindsay's crunchy crackers. She used whole wheat flour, which I will try next time. (I am currently out.)

Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10

Liptauer Cheese

Inspiration:
The Amazing Race's pit stop in Austria, and a recipe from Nigella Lawson.

I think this recipe, seen on Sherry's blog, was one of the first five recipes I "starred" when I started reading food blogs. (Sadly, Sherry passed away in July, 2008.)

I was thinking I'd make it for book club, but I never got around to it. When researching Austrian recipes, I saw Liptauer cheese referenced and knew it was finally time.


Ingredients:

• 18 ounces cream cheese
  
• 2-1/4 cups cottage cheese
  
• 4-5 tablespoons capers
  
• 8 cornichons, chopped
  
• 3 teaspoons paprika
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• Good grating of black pepper
  
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
  
• 2 teaspoons French mustard

• 1-quart mold or bowl

For drizzling over:

• 1-2 tablespoons flavorless vegetable oil
  
• Fat pinch of paprika
  
  

Instructions:

1. Beat the two cheeses together until they are smooth, and then add all the other ingredients. Mix everything together well, and then turn into a small bowl with a capacity of approximately 1 quart, lined with plastic wrap for easier unmolding later. Smooth the top with a spatula and cover with the overhanging plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator to set.
   

2. When it has become cold enough to turn out—a few hours should do it—unwrap the folded-over plastic wrap on top, place a plate over the now uncovered bowl, turn it the other way out and unmold. Pull the plastic wrap off and drizzle over a rust-red ooze, made by mixing the oil with a pinch of paprika.

3. Serve this with bread or poppy-seed-sprinkled bagels, gherkins, and, if you like, some chopped red onions.

Notes: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this recipe, and Tim enjoyed the leftovers! I used Penzey's Hungarian Half-Sharp Paprika, and it gave the spread a little kick.


Tim's Rating: 9.5/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10

Katie's Bagel Dip

Inspiration:
My friend Katie makes great dips, and she knows Tim LOVES them. When we recently met up for a weekend, she brought along some of her bagel dip. She serves it at breakfast, but it would be a fine appetizer or afternoon snack with a group.


Ingredients:

• 16 oz. sour cream
• 16 oz mayonnaise
• 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
  (Katie's note: do not use the dip mix)
• 6-7 oz of chopped corned beef or regular beef
  
• bagels
  

Instructions:

1. Mix all together and serve with bagels or pita chips.

Tim's Rating: 10/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10

Taco Hummus

Inspiration:
Mark Bittman's hummus recipe
and
This taco seasoning recipe


Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups drained well-cooked or canned chickpeas, liquid reserved
• 1/4-1/2 cup tahini, optional, with some of its oil
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for drizzling
• Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Mix together first nine ingredients (through black pepper).
   
2. Put all ingredients in a food processor and begin to process; add the chickpea liquid or water as needed to allow the machine to produce a smooth puree.
3. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, and/or lemon juice.
   

Notes: We like to take hummus and vegetables as part of our work lunches; as Tim likes everything taco-flavored, I thought I'd mix it up a bit. It's tasty.

Tim's Rating: 8.5/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Portobello Mushroom Fries

Inspiration:
Big City Cooking


Ingredients:

• 4 portobello mushrooms
  
• 1 c. all purpose flour
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 c. panko bread crumbs
  
• salt and pepper
  
• Olive oil
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Make assembly line with flour, eggs, and bread crumbs. Slice mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Dredge mushrooms in flour, eggs, and bread crumbs. Place on oiled pan.
   
2. Drizzle with extra oil and put in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Notes:
These are best fresh out of the oven.I served these with my Tomato Basil Soup and a salad with a basic balsamic vinaigrette. They would also be delicious as an appetizer, served with a tomato-based dipping sauce.


Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Spicy Black Bean Hummus

Inspiration:
Maureen Redmond, featured in Cooking Light

Ingredients:

• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
• Dash of crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Dash of ground red pepper
• Chips or veggies, for dipping
  

Instructions:

1. Using a mini food processor, finely chop garlic. Add next six ingredients and pulse until hummus texture. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
   

Liz's Rating: 8/10
Tim's Rating: 8/10

Reuben Dip

Inspiration:
A recipe from a local cookbook


Ingredients:

• 1/3 pound deli corned beef, sliced into very thin strips
• 1 can sauerkraut, drained
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup Thousand Island salad dressing
• 1/4 cup prepared horseradish, regular or creamy
• cocktail rye bread, toasted
  

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into pie plate or shallow baking dish. Bake at 325 degrees until bubbly. Serve with toasted cocktail rye bread.

Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10

One-Minute Salsa

Inspiration:
A Cook's Illustrated recipe featured in my CSA newsletter
as well as tomatoes, serrano pepper, onion, garlic, and cilantro from my CSA. (Everything except lime, salt, and ground pepper- I love it when that happens.)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small serano or jalapeño chile or 1/2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
• 1/4 small red onion , peeled and root end removed
• 1 small clove garlic , minced or pressed
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
  
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• pinch ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons lime juice from 1 lime
• 2 small tomatoes (about 3/4 pound), ripe, each cored and cut into eighths, or one (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
  

Instructions:

1. Pulse all ingredients except tomatoes in food processor until minced, about five 1-second pulses, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Add tomatoes and pulse until roughly chopped, about two 1-second pulses.
   
   To Make Ahead:
   The salsa can be refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days. Season with additional lime juice and salt before serving.

Notes:
This took me five minutes, not one minute to make. However, it's worth it because it's SO GOOD. Next time I will add an entire serrano pepper, because we love spicy food.

Liz's Rating: 9/10
Tim's Rating: 9/10

Black and White Bean Dip

Inspiration:
Are you ready for some football?!?!? We wanted to have some dip while watching Brett Favre make his regular-season debut with the Jets. Sigh, we miss having you as a Packer, Favre.
I adapted this recipe from Annie's Eats, originally from My Kitchen Café. Check out Annie's blog-- it's one of my favorites.


Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans

• 1 can white beans

• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
  

• 7 oz. hot salsa (I recommend Habañero Lime)
  

• 2 cups shredded co-jack cheese

• 1 cup chopped tomatoes

• garlic salt to taste

• cilantro to garnish
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Rinse and drain both cans of beans. Squeeze the liquid out of tomatoes before chopping so the dip doesn’t turn runny. Put all ingredients except cilantro in a bowl and mix together. Grease a shallow baking dish before spooning in the bean mixture. Sprinkle a little cheese on top.
2. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the dip is heated through. Remove from the oven and top with cilantro.
3. Serve with tortilla chips.

Notes:
We decided to try this dip and compare it to the bean dip that Tim rated an 11/10. Tim's brother had tried both and said we should give it a shot. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend recommended their additions and substitutions: adding in a can of diced green chilies and substituting pepperjack cheese. I think that would taste delicious! We had co-jack cheese on hand and very spicy salsa, so we tried that instead.

Tim's Rating: 8.5/10 ("I think I prefer hot bean dip to be made with refried beans, but this was still good.")
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Spicy Cashew Salad with Chilies, Cilantro, and Lime

Inspiration:
Quick & Easy Thai
as well as green onions from our CSA

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh raw whole cashews (about 1/4 pound)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped shallots
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
• 2 teaspoons dried red chili flakes
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Instructions:

1. Line a plate with a double layer of paper towels, and place it by the stove, along with a slotted spoon or an Asian-style wire-mesh strainer. Heat 2 or 3 inches of vegetable oil in a medium skillet or wok over medium heat until a raw cashew begins to sizzle a few seconds after you add it to the oil, 4 to 5 minutes. Keep one raw cashew handy by the stove to help you judge the changes in color as the nuts cook.
2. Gently add cashews and cook, stirring gently and often, until the nuts turn a soft, pale golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Scoop the cashews out onto the prepared plate, using a slotted spoon or a wire-mesh strainer. Let them drain and cool a little while you set out a medium bowl and a small serving platter.
3. Turn the still-warm cashews into the bowl and toss with salt. Add the shallots, green onions, and chili flakes and toss well. Just before serving, add the lime juice, toss well, and mound on the serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature, with small spoons for eating, or as finger food.

Recipe Notes:
"You may think that cashews are nearly perfect already, but try this simple preparation and you will agree with me that sometimes a good thing can get even better. Raw cashews are widely available in Asian markets at a reasonable price, and they keep a long time uncooked. You can add a big spoonful of dried shrimp, if you like them, and offer a plate of small lettuce cups so your guests can scoop up these delectable cashews bite by bite."


My Notes:
First, the obvious: except for the title, cilantro is nowhere to be seen in this recipe! I am not sure how that happened. Cilantro would be a good addition to this dish, approximately 3 tablespoons of chopped leaves. Otherwise, I would leave this recipe as-is; it's very good.


Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 9.5/10

Gougéres

Inspiration:
A NY Times recipe, adopted from Sara Dickerman and Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch cayenne pepper
  
• 3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼ cup whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 5 ounces Gruyère, grated
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water.

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg and cayenne in a small bowl. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter with the milk and ¼ cup of water over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Bring to a rolling boil, add the flour mixture and stir briskly for 1 minute. The dough should form into a ball, and a thin film should cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Immediately transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on low to quickly release the steam. Just after the steam subsides, add an egg and increase the speed to medium. The dough will break into lumps at first. Once the dough comes back together, add the second egg and continue mixing.
3. In a small bowl, lightly beat the third egg. Stop the mixer. When the dough is lifted with a spoon, it should detach and form a slowly bending peak. If the dough is too thick and doesn’t bend, mix in half of the beaten egg. Check the dough again; add the remaining beaten egg as needed.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
5. Fold ¾ of the Gruyère into the warm dough. Pipe or scoop the dough onto the prepared pans in tablespoon-size balls. Using a pastry brush, glaze each ball with the egg wash, smoothing out peaks with gentle pressure on the brush. Top each ball with a pinch of the remaining grated cheese. Bake for 18 minutes, rotating the pans once. The puffs should be light golden brown. Turn off the oven, crack open the oven door and let cool in the oven for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve immediately.

My Notes:
I had a problem with them falling. When I cracked open the oven door at the end of the recipe, they had all puffed up beautifully. I didn't do anything for those 10 minutes, and then about 80% of them had fallen flat. Any ideas on what I did wrong?
These were so delicious right out of the oven! I took them to book club, and they were just ok when cooled. So I will follow the instructions next time and "serve immediately."


Tim's Rating: 8/10 ("There wasn't much to them.")
Liz's Rating: 9.5/10 when warm, 8/10 when cooled.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Inspiration:
Garlic scapes from our CSA and this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup garlic scapes (about 4 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
• scant 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• ¼ cup grated parmigiano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated.
   
2. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper.
   

Recipe Notes:
"Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated."

Notes:
Tim doesn't like pesto, but I have been craving it. When we got a recipe in our CSA box this week, I knew it was pesto time. I topped buttery crackers with locally-produced cream cheese and a bit of pesto on top. So. Good.

Liz's Rating: 8.5/10
Tim's Rating: n/a (not a fan of pesto)

Tim Cooks: Tangy Lemon-Caper Dip

Inspiration:
A desire for a dip for our CSA veggies, and a recipe found in Better Homes and Gardens.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces light sour cream
• 1/2 cup yogurt, low-fat plain
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained and finely-chopped
• 2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill (or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill)
• 1/2 teaspoon finely-shredded lemon peel
• lemon peel and dill for garnish
  
• Assorted vegetable dippers (such as peeled baby carrots, zucchini slices, pea pods, yellow summer squash sticks, and/or red sweet pepper strips)

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, yogurt, capers, the 2 teaspoons snipped dill, and the 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel.
2. To serve, garnish with additional lemon peel and additional fresh dill or thyme. Serve with dippers.

Recipe Notes:
Nutritional Info (Per serving): Calories: 32, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 36mg, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Total Fat: 2g, Carbs: 2g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Protein: 1g. Exchanges: Fat: 0.5

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10